The MCL38 delivered McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship in 26 years, scored points at every event in 2024, and finished the season without having suffered a mechanical failure during any of 24 Grands Prix or six Sprints. It is one of the team’s all-time greats.

With a stable set of regulations, 2024 was always going to be a season of evolution rather than revolution at McLaren. The consensus in the design office was that 2023’s MCL60 had ample development potential, and the team, boosted by a new state-of-the-art in-house wind tunnel, could build on its progress, without fear of running into diminishing returns.

The MCL38 hit the track on a wet and wild Valentine’s Day at Silverstone for its pre-season shakedown, Team Principal Andrea Stella having revealed that the team wouldn’t be trying to do too much with the launch car but, akin to 2023, a significant performance step would come with the first major update.

The early season went well, perhaps slightly better than forecast, with both drivers scoring consistently. Lando took the MCL38’s first podium, with third place in Round 3 in Australia. More surprising was a strong performance in Shanghai for Round 5, where the number of slow corners - very much the bête noire of the MCL60 - had been expected to limit the team’s competitiveness. Instead, Lando took Pole for the F1 Sprint, and finished the Grand Prix in P2.

Round 6 in Miami saw the team’s first major update arrive, and with it, a first victory for the MCL38, and a debut victory for Lando. The timing of a Safety Car aided him while it hampered Oscar, but the undeniable conclusion from the weekend was that McLaren now had a package capable of contesting victories.

Philosophically, the design of the MCL38 and its upgrade path was geared more towards addressing the weaknesses of the MCL60 rather than building on its strengths, with the update goals set-out by Andrea at the start of the season being to deliver greater aerodynamic efficiency, improved tyre longevity and generate more mechanical grip – in essence a car that was quicker on the straights, capable of preserving its tyres over a longer stint and enhancing its competitiveness on circuits with predominantly low-speed corners. The updated car - which Zak Brown called ‘almost a B-Spec’ - demonstrated its greater all-round prowess with an unbroken string of podiums, that stretched to mid-October.

Alongside improving race results, the upgraded car also became a regular contender for Poles. Lando started from the front in Round 10, the Spanish Grand Prix, which was the first of eight Poles he claimed during the season. Our first front-row lockout of the season, however, had to wait until Round 13 in Hungary, where Lando lined-up on Pole with Oscar in P2. The order at the chequered flag, however, was reversed, with Oscar taking his first F1 victory, having vaulted into the lead at the first corner.

While the car had become a good all-rounder, it still seemed most at-home on smooth, flowing circuits with an abundance of medium-speed corners. That was demonstrated after the mid-season break, with Lando winning from Pole at Zandvoort. The car for the Netherlands featured another significant update, gaining new suspension, a new floor and an improved rear wing assembly.

Assessing whether development goals have been achieved is always a nebulous task, but the next few races, as F1 concluded the European campaign and embarked on a long-haul final third of the season, suggested the MCL38 was hitting its targets. Enhanced aerodynamic efficiency (i.e. a lower-drag car) made it notably quicker on the straights than its predecessor. That either translated into higher top-speeds or, as was often the case, allowed the team the flexibility to run with more wing for improved overall lap time. At Monza, the team locked out the front row, while Oscar took a stunning victory in Azerbaijan, and in doing so moved McLaren into the Constructors’ Championship lead for the first time.

Lando then made it a very special September for the team, taking victory in Singapore and in doing so, sealed our first back-to-back victories in a dozen years. While Lando’s victory was a lights-to-flag run, the MCL38 impressed with its ability preserve its tyres, Lando going further than his immediate competition, and Oscar finishing on the podium after staying out longer than anyone and overcutting his rivals.

The end of the 2024 season saw the performance advantage chop-and-change between team on a race-by-race - or sometimes a day-by-day - basis. The MCL38 stayed in the hunt with another upgrade at the Circuit of the Americas, and further work around the rear wing assembly across the remaining races. The team took two vital Sprint victories, Lando winning in São Paulo and Oscar in Qatar but, as had always looked likely, the Constructors’ Championship went to the wire…

Lando and Oscar secured another front-row lockout in the season finale to boost the team’s confidence, but any inkling of comfort was swiftly dispelled when Oscar was punted off at the first corner. Lando, however, completed a faultless race, bringing the MCL38 home to secure victory and the title, narrowly ahead of the chasing pack.